He's a genius. An actual computer genius. Which is annoying, given that I'm usually a little frustrated by people who are better than me.

Not that OutlawResolve is necessarily better than me, but there's no denying that he's good. Suspiciously good... but then again, maybe I'm a little suspicious of everyone. All hackers are, and we've all been even more on edge since the UNBI started investigating us more closely.

Anyway, I've been looking into his work all day, and almost got caught twice being distracted in school, but it was worth it. I normally like to keep up-to-date on my competition, at least vaguely. I usually don't research their projects in depth, but Outlaw, well, something's different about him — something about him just doesn't fit with the hacker cliché of a grumpy loner compsci nerd who can't get a girlfriend. There's a complexity to his code that I haven't seen anywhere else. His programs are constantly evolving, the later ones completely different than his first few jobs. He's learning, not just copying and pasting like so many others. Something tells me he isn't just doing this for extra cash — I think he's passionate about it, like me. Who knows, maybe he also has a boring life and needs an escape.

Not that I'm trying to psychoanalyze him or anything. I don't know his motives, and it's none of my business, anyway. I don't even know him. Besides, let's just say, if I were to plot my ability to understand people on a cartesian plane, it'd be in the third quadrant — negative on both axes.

OutlawResolve wasn't the only distraction to my school day, though. This morning, I got a message from my older sister that almost made me drop my plate of waffles.

She's coming to visit this weekend.

Idra is possibly the only good thing about my family. My dad's dead, my mom basically doesn't exist, and any extended family I have lives on the other side of the world and couldn't care less about me. They all lead normal, meaningless lives, going about their days like typical bricks in the wall. My sister, on the other hand, is anything but normal. She's only 22 — six years older than me — and already has an excellent, well-respected job at the government Peace Department. After having only worked there a year, starting right after graduating university, she's already risen to an exceptionally high position in the agency for someone of her age and experience. Not to mention, she maintained a social rank of A since the end of high school, above average by any standards, but especially high compared to my rank of C. What can I say, I'm not a people person.

Yeah, my sister's amazing, but am I excited for her visit? Not in the least. She's not just a good, successful person, she's perfect. Annoyingly perfect. Miss Idra Raven, the young genius. It's like she never does anything wrong, and everyone knows it, too. They all look at her the way I wish someone — anyone — would look at me. Like she's worth something. It makes it hard not to hate her sometimes.

Not that I do hate her... Of course I don't, she's my sister, and I'll always love her. Not to mention, she's the only one in my family who actually cares about me. Still, her visits always make me uncomfortable, like I'm nothing compared to her.

The more I think about it, the more I always wonder if I'm nothing at all.

Why could she be coming home this time, anyway? She doesn't visit often, usually just for the holidays, unless she has a good reason. I think she doesn't like to see my mom the way she is. It's not something I like to think about, but maybe it's easier for her to pretend we don't exist.

Seriously, though, I need to stop trying to psychoanalyze people. Roxanna's always been good at that kind of thing, but I can never figure anyone out. Computers make so much more sense than humans.

Algorithms always follow logic, doing what they're programmed to do, and... that gives me an idea. Maybe if I make a list of all the possible reasons for my sister's visit — recent events, changes in our family — I'll be able to deduce the most likely one. Yeah, that way, when she arrives, I'll be prepared.

Unfortunately, my Recent History teacher keeps looking in my direction, and I don't want to get caught not doing my work. The list will have to wait.

Right, Recent History. Quite possibly the most boring school subject in existence. Here I was thinking that it was boring to learn about the Information War in Old History class, but as it turns out, hours of reading and answering comprehension questions about the Polean Wars is just as much of a snooze. Luckily, I seem to be pretty decent at it, and answer the questions quickly. My teacher, Rai-san, is always saying that I "have a mind for history", whatever the hell that means, which makes absolutely no sense to me. How could I have a natural aptitude for a subject I hate? It must just be easy. Frankly, I don't see how anyone else could find it difficult.

~ BONUS QUESTION ~

The text appears on the hologram over my desk, flooding the space with light and my painfully bored soul with disappointment. I finished my work early, and for what? To be given another task, another dull, useless, motivation-crushing—

Oh, quit complaining, Kal. Just get it done.

Create a timeline of the Polean Wars, starting in the year 2100.

With a sigh, I open a timeline template on the holo and get to work, typing out various causes and consequences on my projected keyboard and flinging them around the virtual workspace over my desk.

2100 - Political tension between the Poles and the central countries.

March, 2102 - The North Pole separates itself from the United European Kingdom.

September, 2102 - Shortly after the NP's separation, the South Pole separates from the Russian Empire.

January, 2103 - Russia attempts to regain control over the South Pole. RE/SP war begins.

November, 2103 - The two countries call for a ceasefire. RE/SP war ends. The South Pole remains independent, but is left with significant damages from the war.

February, 2104 - The Southern American Republic attempts to take control of the South Pole. SAR/SP war begins.

March, 2104 - The North Pole steps in to defend the South Pole. NP/SP alliance (known as the Polean Alliance, or PA) is formed. SAR/SP war becomes SAR/PA war.

A blue dot flashes in the corner of my eyeview, accompanied by the familiar chime of a notification. Instinctively, I shift my gaze to open it. It's a notif from a London newsfeed, which I've been following since I started working as xCodebreaker01 a few years ago. Britain, Japan, Canada and Russia are the four countries where cyber crime is most prominent, and where hacking strategies are the most complex and advanced. I have to keep up-to-date on all this, to make sure I don't fall behind.

Cyberattack On British Police Database Linked To Infamous Hacker OutlawResolve

Funny, just yesterday I was described in an article as "Infamous Hacker xCodebreaker01". I guess the adjective is used to describe us all. Somebody really needs to introduce the press to something called creativity. Seems like journalism is just as dull and formulaic as everything else in this world.

I scroll down the page, scanning the article for anything important. Apparently, the London police have been able to identify that the code used in the database breach matched OutlawResolve's usual patterns, all but confirming that he was responsible. Most of the article is unsupported reassurances that the police are doing everything that they can to "bring this criminal to justice", with little information on their actual plan to do so. Really, the only useful part of the article was its headline, informing me that OutlawResolve is back. Who knows why he was in hiding, but he sure isn't anymore.

The database breach at the police station, though, that piques my interest. According to the info available in the article, the files on several recent cases were erased, suspect profiles wiped, and the magnetic locks on the holding cells in three precincts disengaged, leading to the escape of 15 detainees. And with the evidence files gone, the police have no way to capture them again.

I open the search bar at the top of my eyeview — next step: more research. After reading a few more articles and watching an interview with the lead detective on the case, I've discovered that the program used wasn't uploaded from a d-chip. The hacking was done in real time, via wireless connection to the station's server. While the reporter looked bored with the computer-science-talk, to me the information is priceless. It means that the attack wasn't done by a client who bought a programmed datachip from OutlawResolve — he did it himself. It is of course possible that he was still hired by someone, and the program was simply too complex to put on a chip, but... I don't know. I still have my suspicions.

Theories, possibilities, next steps start to fill my head. Should I check the chats first, see what everyone else is saying? It's my first instinct, but accessing the forum from school, over a public network, is risky, even with the privacy algorithms I've written. I also want more information about the program OutlawResolve used for the breach, but to get my hands on that, I'd have to hack the London police myself, which I so don't have the time or energy for today. It wouldn't take as much skill to do that, though, I'd just have to unlock one casefile... In order to gain control of secure evidence, profiles and the locking system, on the other hand, Outlaw's program must have been absolutely genius, and my curiosity just might get the better of me.

Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to the Polean Wars timeline task. I've seriously got to stop getting distracted, or I'll never get this assignment done. What does it matter how he did it, anyway? I have no reason to care.

June, 2104 - Northern American Republic joins the war to help the Southern American Republic, forming the American Alliance.

December, 2104 - The North Pole bombs the Russian Empire, causing them to join the war.

2105 - The Japan-East-Asian Democratic State (JEADS) joins the war.

2106 - The American Alliance disbands and the South American Republic leaves the war.

2107 - JEADS leaves the war, agreeing to a ceasefire with the Poles as well as a travel ban between JEADS and the Poles.

Class ends before I can finish the timeline. Chikushō. Guess I have homework, then.

* * *

"Ugh, I hate Recent History!" I complain to Roxanna later that day, as we walk to the exit.

"Oh, it's not so bad," she says, her tone ever-positive. "Hey, why don't you come over today and we can do our homework together?"

"Sure," I agree, "that sounds way more fun than doing it alone. Is Cayden coming, too?"

"He's going out with Jezzia today, remember?"

"Oh right, I forgot everyone's in a relationship but me!" I laugh. "On another topic, though, what homework do you have? Other than the Recent History timeline we're all stuck doing."

"I have to do some physics questions, and I still have some work to do for my compsci project. What about you?"

"Just the Section 3 reading for economics."

* * *

The economics homework proves to be easy enough, and I finish it in a few minutes, occasionally pausing to help Roxy with her physics questions. After tucking my holo-book d-chip back into my bag, I slide across the floor in a rolly chair, waiting for her to finish, and occasionally rolling over to the desk to help her with a question.

"So, the Polean war timeline," she says, putting away the d-chip with her physics notes and taking the Recent History one from her backpack. "How far did you get in class?"

"I did everything up to the travel ban between JEADS and the Poles, what about you?"

"I was just past that part, I added that the United European Kingdom joined the war and left again in 2116."

"So, we're just missing the North American Republic leaving and the Polean Alliance breaking up, right?" I ask.

"And the Russian Empire leaving the war in 2111," Roxy adds.

"Right. I keep forgetting that one."

It only takes a few minutes to complete the timeline, and I roll across the floor once more in my chair, glancing around the room and letting both my gaze and my mind wander.

"So, Cayden and Jezzia..."

Roxanna turns toward me. "What about them?"

"What do you think of them?"

"She seems nice enough. And Cayden seems happy."

"Yeah. I guess I just never thought they'd actually get together."

"What do you mean?" Roxy asks.

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of had this theory. It's stupid, don't worry about it." She doesn't say anything, but keeps looking at me, so I continue. "I kind of thought that he was just pretending to have a crush on Jezzia. That he liked someone else."

"And who would that be?" A sly grin crosses her face. She knows! Of course she knows, how could she not?

"You, of course!"

For a second, Roxy looks surprised. Then she laughs, shaking her head.

"What? No way, what makes you think he likes me?"

"Oh come on, Roxy, you know it as well as I do. He talks to you all the time, he's always happy when you agree with him—"

"Yeah, because we're friends, silly."

"Well, he passes you notes in class."

"He passed you a note, too!"

"OK, if he doesn't like you, why does he spend so much time hanging out with the two of us girls? Guys his age usually hang out with other boys."

My phone chimes and a notif shows up in the corner of my eyeview.

"Just a sec, I'd better check that," I tell my friend, reaching for the device.

My heart skips a beat when I see what it is. It's a notification from an encrypted chat channel I made yesterday, when I messaged OutlawResolve in the forum. I'm signed on to Roxy's home WiFi network, which usually I wouldn't use to check anything suspicious, but I modified this particular channel with extra security measures, to make sure it was virtually untraceable, so I'll take the risk. With cautious excitement, I open the chat. My message from last night appears, along with a reply.

xCodebreaker01: I've been told you've been MIA for a couple weeks. Any problems? I normally wouldn't ask but the UNBI's been upping their game in my area.

OutlawResolve: I assume you keep up to date on the feeds. That answer your question?

At first, I'm not sure how to interpret his message. Was that supposed to be scornful? Is he mad that I asked him about it? Or just stressed about... Whatever it is he's mixed up in? Or maybe he was just telling me he's back, just not in so many words. I'm about to put my phone down when it chimes again.

OutlawResolve: Yeah, I had a UNBI agent poking around here too, trying to go undercover as a client. You're in Japan, right? Was that really you in the security feed at the café?

Best not to tell him any more information than he already has — I won't answer. He knows the UNBI thinks they have a lead on me, but he doesn't need to know that they're right.

"Hello? Earth to Kalix..." Roxy waves a hand in front of my face, and I realize how weird it must look that I'm just staring into space, even though she knows it's my eyeview.

"Sorry, just had to check a message," I say, closing the chat window.

"You looked kind of surprised, what was it?"

"Oh— just, ah, my sister," I answer, remembering her message from this morning. "She's coming back to Tokyo to visit this weekend."

I hate lying to her, but my claim isn't technically false, and luckily she accepts it without suspicion. We talk for a few minutes about Idra's upcoming visit before I notice the time and realize I should be heading home. Roxy offers to let me stay for dinner, but we both know I have to go check on my mother. Besides, I should check the dark web chats for any updates on the UNBI's investigations. After checking my bag to make sure I wasn't forgetting any of my school supplies, I said goodbye to Roxanna and her parents and headed out the door.

* * *

The first thing I do when I get home, as usual, is check the dark web forum. OutlawResolve hasn't said anything since this afternoon, but I have a new message from a temporary account, and they've self-flagged as a client. While I'm not meeting clients in-person for a while because of the raid, I'm still accepting them online since I can send programs digitally. Hopefully this one will be interesting, my last few jobs were getting a bit tedious.

Anonymous13810: I have a job for you. I know the timing may be inconvenient given the recent police raid, but I'll pay you well. Can we meet to discuss? Hibiya Park, 10:00am, this Saturday.

Inconvenient? That's the word you're going with, huh? I quickly type up a reply.

xCodebreaker01: That's not how it works. Give me the details of the job first, I only meet clients in person to drop off a finished product. Besides, I'm not accepting in-person meetings at all for the next two weeks.

Surprisingly, they respond right away.

Anonymous13810: Consider it a special circumstance. I need an in-person meeting.

I shake my head with a sigh. Does this person really think I'll put myself at risk just because they have some "special circumstance" to deal with? With a quick wave, I shut off the screens, figuring whoever this person is will get the message that I'm not making an exception. I can't stand people who think they're that important.

Across the hall, I check that my mother's OK — well, as OK as she ever is — then go downstairs and, too tired to cook, heat up two instant meals. Even though she barely noticed me enter her room a few minutes ago, I'll bring one up to my mom and leave it on her dresser in case she's hungry later before heading back to my bedroom to eat mine while rewatching old episodes of Timeskip.